Track: Carrier-Eades, O’Connell All-Americans

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia seniors Chelsea Carrier-Eades and Jessica O’Connell were named to the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches of America (USTFCCCA) All-America list Tuesday afternoon following their performances last week at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

Carrier-Eades was honored as a first team All-American in both the heptathlon and the 100-meter hurdles, while O’Connell was given honorable mention All-America accolades in the 5,000-meter run.

Carrier-Eades, a Buckhannon, W.Va. native, finished third in the heptathlon with 5,839 points, the second-best total of her WVU career. She placed seventh in the 100-meter hurdles finals in 13.31 after achieving a career- and school-best 12.78 in last Thursday’s semifinals.

An eight-time All-American, Carrier-Eades won the heptathlon for a second consecutive year at the Texas Relays and placed first in the 100-meter hurdles and second in the long jump and 400-meter hurdles at the BIG EAST Outdoor Championships. Ranked No. 3 in the heptathlon for the majority of the year, she also earned career bests in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash and the 800-meter run.

A Calgary, Alberta native, O’Connell finished 19th in the 5,000-meter run finals at NCAAs in 17:10.43 to receive the honorable mention All-America status. To qualify for nationals in Iowa, the two-time All-American came in 10th place in the 5,000 meter at the NCAA East Regional in a career-best 16:26.18.

During the outdoor season, O’Connell achieved first place in the 3,000 meter at the Wake Forest Open and the Larry Ellis Invitational and earned an eighth-place finish in the 5,000 meter at the BIG EAST Indoor Championships.

First team USTFCCCA All-America honors are awarded to those who earn any portion of a team point at the national championships, or reach an eight-entrant final. Second team All-America honors are handed out to those whose final placing in the national meet range from ninth to 16th place. Those who participated at the final site but did not place in the meet’s top 16 are listed as honorable mention for the All-America award.

LSU led all men’s squads with 15 first team honors, followed by Texas A&M (14), Arkansas (13), and Florida (10). Women’s squads were led by Oregon (17), LSU (16), Texas A&M (13), and Kansas (12). The Pac-12 had the most first team honors on the women’s side with 48, followed by the Big 12 (47), SEC (42), and ACC (18).